This invention relates generally to automotive tools and, more particularly, to a device for removing a pilot bushing or needle bearing from a crankshaft cavity. The bushing removal device is configured to inject grease into the cavity so as to increase removal pressure on a bushing being removed.
Removing a needle bearing or pilot bushing from a crankshaft is often a difficult procedure for an automobile technician or mechanic although it is not uncommon. A pilot bushing is important in that it may align and support a vehicle's input shaft. Another description of the role of a pilot bushing is that it allows the transmission input shaft—which extends into the engine crankshaft—to rotate independently. Sometimes the pilot bushing must be replaced or repaired.
A significant difficulty with removing a pilot busing or bearing is that there is no reliable means for grasping it with a tool and no good way to leverage enough force to remove the bearing from an interior space defined by conventional crankshaft. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a pilot bushing removal tool that directs grease behind a pilot bushing installed in a crankshaft cavity until an increased pressure of the inserted grease causes an outward “pushing” of the bushing or bearing out of the interior space. Further, it would be desirable to have a pilot bushing removal tool that that may be coupled to a grease gun or other source of grease to be injected through a nozzle and that removes air from accumulated grease so as maximize the pressure.